spacey

American  

[spey-see] / ˈspeɪ si /

Or spacy

adjective

Informal.

spacier, spaciest

1. dazed, out of touch with reality, or easily confused; spaced-out.

   The younger character was spacey and prone to making mistakes.

2. characterized by an ethereal or dreamlike quality, or evoking a feeling reminiscent of the altered state experienced under the influence of narcotic drugs.

   He uses lots of effects that give the music an eerie, spacey feel.

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Spacey ¹ British  

/ ˈspeɪsɪ /

noun

1. Kevin, original name Kevin Spacey Fowler . born 1959, US actor; films include Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), The Usual Suspects (1995), American Beauty (1999), which earned him an Academy Award, The Shipping News (2001), and Beyond the Sea (2004); artistic director of Old Vic Theatre Company, London, from 2003

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spacey ² British  

/ ˈspeɪsɪ /

adjective

1. slang vague and dreamy, as if under the influence of drugs

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Etymology

Origin of spacey

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70; space + -ey ¹

Explanation

Someone who's spacey acts distracted, befuddled, and maybe a bit strange. You might be a little spacey after you get your wisdom teeth removed. When people say funny things as they're coming out of anesthesia, acting silly or out of touch with reality, they're being spacey. You might also have a spacey friend who simply tends to be a little forgetful or quirky. This informal adjective, also spelled spacy, originally meant "roomy" and then "acting or feeling as if you're in outer space," probably from 1965 American slang, spaced-out.

Example Sentences

Many know her from her role as D-list comedienne Jenna Maroney on “30 Rock” or spacey socialite Jacqueline Voorhees in “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025

Songs are by turns epic, edgy, spacey and insistent.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2025

And he appeared just as often in more popular fare, playing a spacey tank commander in “Kelly’s Heroes,” a demented arsonist in “Backdraft” and an authoritarian president in the “Hunger Games” films.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 27, 2024

Whereas he once presented himself as a vain peacock, Clay here comes off as spacey and a bit doddering, swaddled in scarves and wide sunglasses and outfits Susie Essman might wear on “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2024

I had gotten used to Sunny quoting some spacey book that nobody had ever read.

From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds